The European Union’s Climate Change Policy and Negotiation: Evaluating the first decade after the Maastricht Treaty

The European Union’s attempt at addressing the issue of climate change has been one of its core agenda since the 1990s. The first decade after the signing Maastricht was a crucial period for the EU it was for the first time that environmental policy was integrated into the dynamics of the internal market. Therefore, during this period, the EU as an important player in climate change negotiation was challenged by its internal capabilities. In evaluating the EU’s performance as a leader in climate change negotiation, an analysis of the first decade of its internal policies and its impact on its international leadership is therefore crucial to reveal its overall performance. During the first decade, the EU’s success in climate change leadership was partial because institutionally it lacks the capacity to frame a meaningful climate change policy. It is only with the consolidation of its internal dynamics that result of its leadership began to bear result as witnessed during the 2015 Paris Conference on climate change negotiation.